The Premature Burial

Description:The Premature Burial is a horror short story on the theme of being buried alive written by Edgar Allan Poe 1809 1849 and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest The story has been adapted to film In The Premature Burial the first person unnamed narrator describes his struggle with attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term catalepsy a condition where he randomly falls into a death like trance This leads to his fear of being buried alive The true wretchedness he says is to be buried whThe Premature Burial is a horror short story on the theme of being buried alive written by Edgar Allan Poe 1809 1849 and published in 1844 in The Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper Fear of being buried alive was common in this period and Poe was taking advantage of the public interest The story has been adapted to film In The Premature Burial the first person unnamed narrator describes his struggle with attacks of the singular disorder which physicians have agreed to term catalepsy a condition where he randomly falls into a death like trance This leads to his fear of being buried alive The true wretchedness he says is to be buried while alive He emphasizes his fear by mentioning several people who have been buried alive In the first case the tragic accident was only discovered much later when the victim s crypt was reopened In others victims revived and were able to draw attention to themselves in time to be freed from their ghastly prisons The narrator reviews these examples in order to provide context for his nearly crippling phobia of being buried alive As he explains his condition made him prone to slipping into a trance state of unconsciousness a disease that grew progressively worse over time He became obsessed with the idea that he would fall into such a state while away from home and that his state would be mistaken for death He extracts promises from his friends that they will not bury him prematurely refuses to leave his home and builds an elaborate tomb with equipment allowing him to signal for help in case he should awaken after death The story culminates when the narrator awakens in pitch darkness in a confined area he has been buried alive and all his precautions were to no avail He cries out and is immediately hushed he realizes that he is in the berth of a small boat not a grave The event shocks him out of his obsession with death... (more)(less)